


Christmas of Chaos

by IronWoman359



Series: A Party of Three [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Christmas Party, Gen, crossover AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 10:38:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14567199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IronWoman359/pseuds/IronWoman359
Summary: At the insistence of the fans, Thomas introduces his sides to Jack and Mark's egos. Despite their differences, it could be possible for these different egos/sides to become friends...that is, if they can even survive a Christmas party.





	1. Septics and Sides

Jack and Thomas glanced around the room, then at each other. 

“So…” Thomas said, trying to find words. Jack nodded in agreement. What else needed to be said? 

The room was in utter chaos.

Empty pizza boxes were scattered across the coffee table, and there was a stain on the carpet from a spilled glass of soda, which Patton was very quick to reassure Robbie “could have happened to anybody! Don’t worry about it!” 

Marvin and Roman were in a heated conjuring contest, summoning objects and animals into the room. Thomas ducked as a parrot sized dragon swooped over his head, spouting a tiny spurt of fire. 

“Beat that, Marvin the Martian!” Roman prompted, excitement flashing in his eyes. 

“Um…” Thomas started, but he was cut off by a loud sob from the sofa.

Five minutes talking to Patton, and Chase had completely broken down, crying into the paternal side’s shoulder. Patton was gently patting him on the back and murmuring soothing words while Robbie curiously ran his fingers through Patton’s purple hair. 

“Impressive! So majestic!” Roman cried as Marvin summoned a sleek black cat the size of a pony.

“Roman, please, I’m trying to concentrate!” Logan snapped, looking up from the coffee table. Jameson tapped his shoulder, then tapped the open book open on the table. 

“Yes yes, of course,” Logan said, returning to the text. “See Doctor? It’s ‘M’ that has three fingers are over the thumb, you want two for ‘N.’ It’s just like in writing.” Henrik nodded, carefully moving his thumb to the correct spot. Jameson clapped his hands, his eyes as wide as his smile. 

“Marvin, maybe tone it down a bit?” Jack suggested feebly, but it was no use, the cat was already using the Christmas tree as a scratching post, pulling the lights ajar and breaking several ornaments. 

“Come friends, we must save Christmas!” Jackieboy cried, leaping into action, trying to pull the cat away from the tree. Roman gave a heroic cry and leapt in to join, drawing his samurai sword. 

“Don’t kill it!” Patton cried from the corner where Chase was showing him pictures of his kids, tears shining in his eyes.

“Roman, we’ve talked about sword use indoors!” Thomas cried desperately. 

Anti and Virgil sat in a corner, Anti chuckling at the chaos.

“I mean it,” Virgil continued, his voice low. “I really like the gauges. I think they suit you.” A slow, shy smile spread across Anti’s face, and his glitches lessened in intensity. Virgil kept talking to him, his voice barely audible over the noise of the room. Anti nodded at whatever he was saying, chewing on his lip in thought. Virgil patted his shoulder somewhat awkwardly, then held his phone out, showing something on the screen. Anti laughed, and Virgil gave a small smile. 

“Aww, look at them!” Thomas nudged Jack, pointing to Virgil and Anti scrolling through Virgil’s phone. 

“I’ve never seen Anti warm up to someone so quickly,” Jack admitted. 

“Well, Virge knows what it’s like to be cast as the villain all the time,” Thomas said, looking at his anxiety with a proud smile. 

A loud crash stole their attention; the cat had managed to completely topple the Christmas tree. 

“Marvin, enough with the conjuring!” Jack exclaimed, and Thomas nodded in agreement. 

“AWwww!” Roman and Marvin complained. Sighing, they both snapped their fingers, making the various items and creatures vanish. 

“That’s it, you’ve got it!” Logan suddenly cried out, clapping his hands together. “Show him, Henrik!” All eyes turned to the center of the room, where Schneep was facing Jameson. 

The doctor took a deep breath, then began to sign, slowly and carefully. 

“Hello. I am H-E-N-R-I-K. It’s good to talk to you.” 

Tears shone in Jameson’s eyes and he tackled Schneep in a bone snapping hug. Everyone laughed, and Jack and Thomas shared another look. 

Maybe having all the characters meet for Christmas had been a good idea after all.


	2. Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, it didn't go so badly last time, right? We can do this again? Virgil isn't so sure...

Thomas took a deep breath, reading and re-reading the first line of the email he was starting. 

_Dear Mark,  
I have a bit of an unusual proposal for you. ___

__He stared at the cursor blinking at the end of the line. Should he go through with it? The fans wanted it, sure, but from what he knew about Mark’s “egos,” they were much more violent than Jack’s._ _

__Virgil popped up behind him, peering over his shoulder._ _

__“Don’t send it,” he begged, his voice low and urgent. “Don’t even write it, just close the laptop and forget it.”_ _

__The other sides popped up beside him, all talking over one another._ _

__“Where’s your sense of adventure?”_ _

__“It’s the spirit of Christmas!”_ _

__“It’s a simple matter of risk analysis-”_ _

__“All right, enough!” Thomas said, silencing them all. “One at a time guys, come on.”_ _

__“It’s too risky,” Virgil insisted._ _

__“You said the same thing about Jack’s egos, Blue Christmas!” Roman protested. “And that turned out fantastic!”_ _

__“Come on Virge, we oughtta give them a chance!” Patton added, giving Virgil a hopeful smile._ _

__“Virgil does have a point though,” Logan put in. “Jack’s egos were risky, but the only one who seriously posed a danger was Anti.”_ _

__“And you got along with him beautifully, Virgil,” Patton said, pride shining in his eyes._ _

__“BUT, Mark’s personas are much more, shall we say, unpredictable,” Logan continued. “Nearly all of them have displayed violent or unstable behavior in the past. And most of them are intent on ruining Markiplier in some way or another.”_ _

__“Maybe, but it’s Christmas, Logan!” Patton insisted. “It’s the season of peace! Of joy, and love, and second chances!”_ _

__“Yes, I am aware of the ‘Spirit of Christmas,’ Patton. And…I agree,” Logan admitted._ _

__“What?” Virgil looked up at him, surprised._ _

__“Think of it this way,” Logan began, pushing his glasses up. Roman groaned to himself, sensing a long speech, but Patton shot him a look and he closed his mouth._ _

__“We now have met all of Jacksepticeye’s personas, and we know that several of them are friends and acquaintances with Markiplier’s. Particularly your friend Anti, Virgil. It is my understanding he is very close to the entity known as ‘Darkiplier.’”_ _

__Virgil shrugged, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets._ _

__“Mark’s personas will hear about us from Jack’s personas, and they may decide they want to come and visit us, regardless of whether we invite them. IF we are to meet them, I say it is better to do so on our own terms.”_ _

__“Logan has a point, Virgil,” Thomas said, and the others nodded._ _

__“Okay,” Virgil said. “I know when I’ve been outvoted.”_ _

__“Don’t worry kiddo, everything’ll turn out fine,” Patton reassured him, patting his shoulder. Virgil grunted, but shot Patton a half smile._ _

__“Okay,” Thomas said, typing out the rest of the email. “I’ve asked Mark AND Jack if we can all have a Christmas party together. We’ll have it at Jack’s place since we’ve been there already. Neutral territory.”_ _

__“Excellent!”_ _

__“Adequate.”_ _

__“We’ll be fine, Virgil.”_ _

__“I sure hope so…”_ _

__Thomas glanced at his sides one last time, before clicking ‘send.’_ _

__No taking it back now._ _


	3. The Party Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Against everybody's better judgement, they're all here. Things may get a little tense, but they'll all be able to handle it...right?

The three men stood facing one another, silent. Around them, the spirit of Christmas was oozing from every inch of the room. The air smelled like cinnamon and peppermint, and there were so many decorations that it looked like the Christmas section of Harrods.   
Thomas shuffled his feet, and he glanced between Mark and Jack, who each returned his gaze.   
  
“So…” Mark said, and Thomas was glad that he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t think of anything to say.   
  
“We really doing this?” Jack asked. They had all agreed via email to have a little get together at Jack’s, or rather, Jack’s egos’ place, but now that the three of them were there in person, the idea seemed even more ridiculous.   
  
“At this point, do we have a choice?” Thomas asked, and the others shook their heads.   
  
“I don’t really talk to, uh. My  _egos_  very much,” Mark said, uncomfortable. “Most of them wanna kill me, after all. But they’ve made it clear that they’re coming.”   
  
Jack nodded.   
  
“Anti said he told Dark, and from what I understand, Warfstache overheard the conversation,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. Mark chuckled.   
  
“Yeah, Dark might have just declined, but no one can talk Wilford out of a party.”   
  
“Ok,” Thomas said. “So, this is actually happening now.” 

Jack nodded, and he turned, calling down the hall.   
  
“Ok guys, come on out!”   
  
Jack’s personas filed into the room, most of them nodding hello to Mark and Thomas. Thomas reached inside himself, calling the Sides out. Roman sprang up immediately, excitement clear on his face. He was wearing his new Christmas sweater, and as Patton and Logan also rose, Thomas saw that they also had their sweaters on.   
  
“Hey everyone! Great to see you all!” Patton waved to the room, a giant grin plastered on his face. “And hi, you must be Mark! I’m Patton, nice to meet you!” Mark looked surprised at the Sides’ sudden appearance, but he couldn’t help but to smile back, the friendly figure tended to have that effect on people.   
  
“Uh, guys? Where’s Virgil?” Thomas asked, frowning. The anxious side had yet to appear, and Thomas had a sneaking suspicion he knew why.   
  
“He’s  _still_ been trying to talk us out of coming,” Roman huffed.   
  
“We have tried to reason with him, but as the time of this event has gotten closer, he has become increasingly difficult to get through to,” Logan added.   
  
“Well, we can’t force him to come,” Thomas started, but was cut off by Anti glitching in front of him, just inches from his face. Thomas froze, too stunned to react.   
  
“Hey, guess what Virgil?” the ego asked with a giggle that sent chills down Thomas’s spine. “The only thing more awkward than a party…is being the only side who didn’t come to a party when everyone knows there are four of you.”   
  
No one in the room dared to move, Thomas didn’t even dare to breathe. Anti’s face was twisted into an ear-splitting grin, glitches violently distorting his features.   
  
“Anti…” a voice warned, but Thomas couldn’t tell who it was. His heartbeat was so loud in his ears that he was sure the whole room could hear it.   
  
_This was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a b-_  
  
“Back off, man,” Virgil’s voice cut through the thick silence as he appeared, standing next to Thomas protectively. Anti grinned, and stepped back instantly.   
  
“There we go!” he said, clapping his hands. “Now the gang’s all here!”   
  
The room unfroze as Anti glitched back to where he had been standing between Schneep and Marvin, and Mark took a deep breath.   
  
“Well, here goes nothing,” and he turned to open the front door. “Come on in, guys.”   
  
Mark’s egos filed into the room, greeting their friends on Jack’s side of the room loudly. Virgil reached back to pull his hood up, only to be reminded that Patton had talked him into wearing the Christmas sweaters that he and Roman had made for them. He settled for pulling the sleeves over his hands and hunching his shoulders, wishing he could just disappear. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Thomas giving him an encouraging smile. He grimaced back.   
  
“Okay, everyone!” Jack said, clearing his throat. The room fell silent, and all eyes fell on Jack. “So, as you all know…we’re here to have a good time getting to know each other and celebrate the holiday. All your usual goals, feuds, and grudges have been asked to respectfully be placed on hold for the remainder of the evening. We all agree, right?”   
  
Jack’s words were met with scattered grumbling and a few glares of contempt, but eventually everyone nodded.   
  
“Great!” Jack said with a grin. He looked over at Thomas, then addressed the room again. “This is Thomas Sanders, and with him are some of his “Sides.” So everyone is all on the same page, I thought we could go around the room and introduce ourselves!”   
  
Several egos groaned, including Virgil, but Mark spoke up over the noise.   
  
“Some of you already met each other before, and we know that it got out of hand,” he said, throwing a look to Jack’s side of the room. “So we’ve planned tonight to be a little more structured. We’re sorry if you don’t like it, but there are a lot of you, and we want to make sure everyone has a good time.”   
  
“I’d have a better time if I wasn’t dragged to this ridiculous function,” one of the Iplier egos growled, a high-pitched ringing piercing the air as he spoke.    
  
“Sorry Darky, that ain’t an option!” one with a bright pink moustache countered cheerfully. “You’re here, and you’re gonna have fun!”   
  
“ANYWAY!” Jack shouted over the grumbling. “Thomas, would you and your sides like to go first?” 

“Too much pressure, no,” Virgil muttered, but the others were nodding excitedly.   
  
“Ok, so I’m Thomas Sanders, and…these are my sides.”   
  
“Greetings! I am Roman, and I am the embodiment Thomas’s creativity!” Roman said with a flourish.  
   
“My name is Logan, and I am Thomas’s logical thinking.”   
  
“Hello! I’m Patton, and I represent Thomas’s morality and emotions. It’s so great to meet all of you! Well, meet some of you, see some of you again,” he added, waving at the Septic egos, many of which waved back. All eyes turned to Virgil, and he wished again that he could disappear, but it was too late now.   
  
“I’m Virgil,” he mumbled, his eyes on the ground. “And, I’m Thomas’s anxiety.”   
  
“See, was that so bad?” Patton whispered to him, a supportive smile on his face. Virgil shrugged, but he did give Patton a small smile in return.   
  
“Well, our egos don’t really represent anything, not in that way at least,” Jack admitted. “But you guys, go ahead and introduce yourselves anyway!”   
  
“Everyone here knows us already!” Anti growled, a glitch tearing through his body.   
  
“Please Anti! So no one feels left out!” Patton begged, his eyes wide and welcoming.   
  
“Fine, I’m Anti.”   
  
“I am Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein.” Schneep turned to the sharply dressed persona next to him, who was signing a greeting. “I am Jameson,” he translated slowly. “I cannot speak, so Henrik is learning sign to help translate.”   
  
“Excellent progress, doctor!” Logan praised. Schneep grinned, nodding at the logical side gratefully.   
  
“My name is Chase Brody,” the ego in the snap back spoke up, continuing the introductions.   
  
“And I am Marvin the Magnificent!” the man in the cat mask said, flipping his cape dramatically over his shoulder.   
  
“Jackieboy Man here!” added the superhero.   
  
The purple haired zombie growled, a grin plastered on his face.   
  
“Hey, Robbie,” most of the people responded, smiling as well.   
  
All eyes turned to the side of the room where Mark’s egos were clustered.   
  
“Who wants to start-” Mark began, but was cut off by the pink mustached man.   
  
“Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen and all other configurations of being! My name is Wilford Warfstache, and-”   
  
“And that’s enough out of you,” the gray man cut him off.   
  
“Aww, but Darky,”   
  
“Just Dark, Wil,” he growled, shooting a glare to the rest of the room. “The name is just Dark.”   
  
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air for a moment, but it was broken quickly by a man in a neat black suit.   
  
“Well  _I’m_  Bim Trimmer!” he said, a showman’s grin glowing on his clean-cut face.   
  
“And I am Dr. Iplier.”   
  
“My designation is Google, and my primary objective is to answer questions as quickly as possible.”   
  
“Suh, dudes, I’m Bing! I can answer stuff too! I-”   
  
“The Host interrupts Bing and introduces himself, then the King of the Squirrels introduces himself, followed by-” the Host continued to narrate under his breath as the King of the Squirrels loudly proclaimed   
  
“I’M KING OF THE SQUIRRELS!”   
  
“I’m Jim, this is my brother Jim, and our brothers Jim and Jim,” one of the last egos says, gesturing to the three standing beside him. “We bring holiday greetings from Cousin Jim, Uncle Jim, our Mother Jim, Jim Back at Home-”  
  
“And that’s everyone!” Mark cut off the Jim with a clap of his hands. “Glad to have us all acquainted.”   
  
“So, we’ll do the white elephant exchange later,” Jack said, taking charge once more. “But for now, why don’t we all CIVILY get to know each other a little better?”   
  
“OOH, how about with a game!” Patton exclaimed.   
  
“A game?” Virgil and Logan asked at the same time.   
  
“Yeah, one of those get to know you name games like you play at summer camp!”   
  
The suggestion was met with scattered approval, and soon they were all forming a hesitant circle on the floor.   
  
Thomas, Jack, and Mark exchanged looks as everyone sat down, sharing the same thought.   
  
_Here goes nothing._


	4. Two Truths and a Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At Patton's insistence, the party starts a game of Two Truths and a Lie, but Virgil still has some misgivings.

Virgil was barely listening as Patton explained to the bizarre circle of bizarre people the rules of “Two Truths and a Lie.” He already knew how to play; Patton had insisted the four of them play it and a dozen other “getting to know you” games once he had revealed his name to them. Instead, he took the time to scan the room, taking in the new faces. He remembered Jack’s egos, of course. Despite his misgivings, that party had actually been ok. Most of the Septic egos were harmless enough, and even Anti had come around eventually. The glitching figure had approached Virgil while he was sitting alone in the corner, probably to harass him. But somehow, they had found enough common ground to start a conversation, and before he knew it, Virgil had found himself chatting with him. And one of the things that had come up in conversation was the Iplier Egos.   
  
 _“They’re a slippery bunch,”_ Anti had said.  _“Sure, some of them are harmless, but most of them are more like me than they are like Mark. Very dangerous.”_  
  
Virgil watched them now, as Patton chattered away. The ones called “Jims” didn’t seem too bad, and neither did the one wearing a cheap king costume. The doctor and the one in the simple black suit seemed alright at first glance as well, but the others…Virgil’s eyes traveled from the monochromatic figure to the man with bandages on his eyes, from the one in the bright pink suspenders to the robots bickering quietly with each other. They had something about them…a gleam in their eyes or a tilt of their head, and Virgil could tell. They were not safe. He brought his thumb up to his mouth, chewing at the already stubby nail. This was not going to end well. 

“-and whoever guesses the most right wins!” Patton’s cheery voice cut through Virgil’s musings, bringing him back to the present.   
“Any questions?”   
  
“Yeah, how the hell are we going to keep this straight with so many people?” piped up one of Mark’s egos. Patton thought for a moment, then brightened.   
  
“Thomas, Jack and Mark could keep score for us! Each of you count how many your own people get right, that way it doesn’t get mixed up!”   
  
The statement was met with a spattering of agreement, and Patton clapped his hands together excitedly.   
  
“Ok everyone, remember, hold up one, two, or three fingers to say which statement you think is the lie! I’ll go first, then I’ll pick someone who I don’t know very well to go next! Scorekeepers, are you ready?”   
  
The three youtubers nodded, grabbing pens and notepads.   
  
“OK! So my name is Patton, and here are my two truths and a lie!” The paternal side paused, thinking. “Ok, so I have an intense fear of spiders, my favorite pair of pajamas is my unicorn onesie, and I’m allergic to cats!” Patton grinned, looking around the room as the Septic and Iplier egos thought, a few of them murmuring to one another. His own fellow sides exchanged knowing glances. The correct answer was obvious to them. Patton waited a moment, then said “OK! Which is the lie? Reveal in three, two, one!” Hands went up around the room, displaying numbers. Mostly threes, a few ones, and a scattering of twos. Patton wagged his finger at them.   
  
“It was two! I don’t have a unicorn onesie.”   
  
“Really?” Chase, one of the Septic egos asked. “You strike me as the onesie type.”   
  
“Exactly what made his lie so clever,” Logan spoke up. “Patton is in possession of a cat onesie.”   
  
“Uh huh, the unicorn onesie is Logan’s!” Patton said with a mischievous smile.   
  
 _“Patton!”_  Logan hissed as everyone snickered.   
  
“Alright, sorry Logan,” Patton said, a twinkle in his eye. “Ok, next person! How about…you!” he cried, pointing at Mark’s ego in the simple black suit. Say your name, and your three statements!”   
  
“Once again, I’m Bim Trimmer!” the man said, a dazzling smile on his face. “Hmm…two truths and a lie…ok, I love gardening, I’m not straight, and I’ve never killed a man.” The hands went up; all of the sides guessing one, everybody else guessing three. “Ah, you all got it, it was three!” Bim said with a laugh.   
  
“Come on Bim, you’re supposed to try to fool us!” Chase said with a groan.   
  
“Yeah dude, everyone already knew that!” the robot in a yellow bro tank added.   
  
The sides exchanged quick, worried glances; even Patton sobered up a bit, the smile on his face appearing more forced than usual.   
  
“Alright then Bing,  _you_  go,” Bim said, folding his arms and raising one eyebrow. A chorus of “ooooohs!” rang out among the crowd as Bing and Bim stared each other down.   
  
“Alright then, brah, you’re going down! Sah dudes, the name’s Bing. I’m the best search engine available, I’m an amazing skateboarder, and I always win fights with my brother.” He grinned and looked around the room, but was met with only blank stares from the others.   
  
“Bing,” a low, layered voice rang out from the corner where the gray man, Darkiplier, was sitting, somehow still looking intimidating sitting criss-cross-applesauce.   
  
“You were supposed to tell two truths, not three lies.”   
  
Anti and Roman snickered in unison, then stared at each other in surprise.  A few others laughed at the shocked looks on their faces, and before long the whole room had erupted into vivacious laughter. Patton was positively glowing at the sight of them all having fun, which was enough to make Virgil crack a smile of his own.   
  
They continued to play, working their way around the room. Some of the statements were hilarious Jackieboy’s “I’ve jumped over a 50 story building, I’ve flown to the top of Mt. Everest, and I never eat pizza without pineapple!” had everyone in hysterics. Others were difficult; Dr. Iplier’s “I have performed 8 heart transplants, 3 kidney transplants, and 5 marrow transplants in the past year,” stumped them all for ages, calls of “wait, not yet!” and “I need more time!” ringing out each time they tried to take the results. For the most part, Virgil found himself able to relax, ever so slightly. Every so often, one of Mark’s egos would say something that sent chills down Virgil’s spine; Wilford’s cheery “I’ve shot a man on camera, I’ve shot Santa Clause, and I’ve shot the Pope” in particular made him want to take his fellow sides and run, but he was finding that for the most part, he was able to enjoy himself. Until…  
  
“Virgil, I pick you to go next,” Schneep said slowly, translating for Jameson. Virgil looked over at the mute ego, who was smiling eagerly at him. He had almost forgotten that he would have to take a turn.   
  
What would he say?   
  
He hadn’t even thought of any truths, let alone lies, what was he going to say?   
 _Oh god, he was freezing up, everyone was looking at him, this wasn’t good they shouldn’t have come not good notgoodnotgoodnotgoodno-  
_  
Patton’s warm hand came out of nowhere, covering his own shaking fist and giving a reassuring squeeze. Logan’s foot tapped against his ankle on Virgil’s other side, counting a slow, steady beat for him to sync his breathing to.   
  
“OH, you guys are in for a tough round, Captain Emo over here has the best poker face. One time when we were playing cards…” Roman launched into a completely made up story about four of them playing the card game of the ages in his booming voice, diverting all the attention in the room to himself.   
  
Virgil felt a rush of gratitude towards his fellow sides as Patton rubbed his thumb in gentle circles against his knuckles and Logan’s tapping continued.   
  
“Hey Princey, I think he said  _my_  turn,” Virgil sneered once his breathing had returned to normal. The two locked eyes for a moment, and though he was smirking at the creative side, he knew Roman could read the real message in his eyes.   
  
 _Thank you.  
_  
“Ah, of course. My mistake. A story for another time then, fellas.”   
  
 _You’re welcome.  
_  
“So, my name is Virgil,” he said, focusing on the feeling of Patton’s hand on his and Logan’s steady rhythm. “This is my first time celebrating Christmas outside of my room, my favorite band is My Chemical Romance, and I only told these guys my name five months ago.” Virgil let out a breath slowly, relieved it was done. Against his fist, he felt Patton’s hand stiffen, and Logan’s steady tapping faltered ever so slightly.   
  
 _Oh.  
_  
He risked a glance over at Patton, who was still smiling, but Virgil knew the moral side better than that. The smile was too bright, too wide. He glanced towards Logan, who was fiddling with his glasses, not making eye contact with anyone. Virgil felt a pang of regret, he hadn’t meant to upset them, oh no, why did he always ruin everything…  
  
“Told ya it’d be tough!” Roman chuckled, though the sound lacked its usual exuberance. “Good luck with that one, fellas!”   
  
Virgil risked looking around the room, and realized that they did seem stumped. He thought the answer was obvious, but he had figured that the stereotype might play to his advantage, and it was looking like he was right.   
  
“Ready?” he asked, and eventually everyone nodded. “Three, two, one.”   
  
They all lifted their fingers. He saw mostly threes, a few ones scattered around. He looked at Roman, Patton, and Virgil. They all were holding two fingers in the air, looking…embarrassed?   
  
Why would they be embarrassed?   
  
“Your favorite band isn’t MyChem?” Anti asked, sounding surprised. Virgil opened his mouth to answer, but Patton beat him to it.   
  
“His favorite band is Evanescence,” he said, smiling warmly at Virgil.   
  
“His favorite  _song_ is by My Chemical Romance!” Roman added.   
  
“Yes, ‘I’m Not Okay (I Promise)’, from the album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge,” Logan supplied.   
  
Virgil looked at the three of them, shocked that they remembered all of that about him.   
  
“Huh. You learn something new every day,” Anti mused, reminding Virgil that this was in fact an ongoing party.   
  
“Um, Google, was it? You can go next,” he muttered. Google launched into a series of statements, but Virgil wasn’t really listening. He looked each of his fellow sides in turn, shooting them small but sincere smiles. They each smiled back, and Patton squeezed his hand.   
  
He might just make it through this party yet. 


End file.
